Automatic (Spectrum) Monitoring System Phase 2. Final Report

Transcription

1 Automatic (Spectrum) Monitoring System Phase 2 Final Report Ofcom December 2006 Tim Ollerenshaw Paul Bearpark Niall Mottram Sagentia Ltd. Harston Mill Harston Cambridge CB2 5GG This report has been prepared solely for Ofcom and may not without permission be disclosed to any third party AMS Outline business plan

2 CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE BUSINESS PROPOSITION FOR AN AMS NETWORK Aims and objectives The demand for radio spectrum is rising AMS may be essential for meeting future demand for spectrum An automatic system will be required for monitoring interference in the future Potential users report a current need for AMS for specific monitoring tasks The business case for AMS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AMS Spectrum user consultation Business radio and messaging spectrum Distress frequencies UKMCC & MCA Police, Fire & Ambulance service spectrum use Aeronautical spectrum use Utility company spectrum use MoD spectrum use Government communications spectrum use Commercial radio spectrum Broadcast TV spectrum PMSE spectrum Mobile operator spectrum Research use of spectrum monitoring information Use of AMS by Ofcom SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY AMS Summary of AMS services AMS services and benefits Spectrum suitable for AMS monitoring AMS services development strategy Alternative options for spectrum users IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AMS NETWORK Sensor location options Deployment cost modelling Number of sensors required AMS deployment strategy Deployable AMS Site partners Operating AMS Key milestones FUNDING AMS The benefits of AMS AMS Outline business plan

3 6.2 Costs of deploying AMS Cost-benefit comparison RISKS Technical risks Operational risks Commercial risks ORGANISATIONS CONSULTED AMS Outline business plan

4 Automatic (Spectrum) Monitoring System Outline business plan This report was commissioned by Ofcom to provide an independent view on issues relevant to its duties as regulator for the UK communications industry, for example on issues of future technology or efficient use of the radio spectrum in the United Kingdom. The assumptions, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this report are entirely those of the contractors and should not be attributed to Ofcom. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The demand for radio spectrum in the 30MHz to 3.5GHz sweet-spot is likely to increase significantly over the next five to ten years. Spectrum in this range has significant value, with recent auctions realising values of 375,000 to 576,000 per MHz. However, making spectrum available to meet the growing demand is likely to become increasingly difficult, requiring spectrum sharing and working around legacy users. In this situation, an automatic spectrum monitoring system will be required, to: 1 Support spectrum release and spectrum liberalisation, enabling rising user demand for spectrum to be met, 2 Improve spectrum monitoring capability, ensuring spectrum quality is maintained for existing and future spectrum users, and 3 Integrate monitoring information into dynamic spectrum-sharing radio systems, underpinning longer term demands on the available spectrum. Significant benefits are likely to arise through the use of an automatic spectrum monitoring system to underpin the use of spectrum which is otherwise difficult to release. The principal source of such spectrum is likely to be from the MoD, in terms of the 1GHz of spectrum identified by the Independent Audit of Spectrum Holdings in December However much of this spectrum is difficult to release, given the need to work around existing users, deal with known sources of interference and co-exist with mobile and high power military applications. An automatic spectrum monitoring system which can support the release of ca. 10% of this spectrum over the next five to ten years could allow release of spectrum with an estimated market value of around 67 million, based on current spectrum price benchmarks. Additional, but smaller, benefits are likely to arise in terms of support for spectrum liberalisation, service fees charged for custom monitoring services and efficiency savings when dealing with future interference cases. These benefits, conservatively estimated, could amount to an additional 3.2 million from 2008 to AMS Outline business plan Page 1

5 A national, automatic spectrum monitoring system to provide these benefits is likely to have a capital cost of between 23 million and 29 million, and to cost between 5.6 million and 7.2 million per year to operate, a five year cost of around 53 million. Further work to validate these estimates and reduce the level of uncertainty in terms of the likely range of values is underway, focussing on the number of sensors required in urban and rural areas and whether they are deployed on lamp posts, cell sites or on buildings. The current figures indicate that the net cost-benefit for AMS is positive, i.e. the estimated benefits exceed the costs over the period through to AMS Outline business plan Page 2

6 2 THE BUSINESS PROPOSITION FOR AN AMS NETWORK This section of the plan summarises the need for a national spectrum monitoring system, in the context of rising demand for spectrum and current (and future) monitoring requirements reported by potential users. The section refers to the other parts of the document which provide more detailed information on the justification behind the AMS plan, the likely cost, the services it will provide, the suggested development and funding plan for the monitoring network, and an analysis of the risks envisaged in its development and steps to mitigate these risks. 2.1 Aims and objectives A national AMS network will provide real-time identification and location of radio transmission sources using low cost Automatic Monitoring Stations (AMS). A network of stations will be deployed across the UK to detect, identify and locate the sources of radio signals over a broad range (20MHz 3.5GHz). This covers key areas of spectrum use including commercial radio, business communications, safety of life services and military & security applications. The AMS network will: Detect unauthorised transmissions within in this frequency range, allowing sources of interference to be identified and resolved efficiently Generate high quality information on spectrum occupancy, providing support for spectrum release and maximising the amount of spectrum released for additional use Provide essential support for spectrum liberalisation, including market determination of spectrum use and spectrum trading (e.g. re-assignment & secondary assignment) Facilitate enforcement of spectrum property rights, via linking to a database of licensed users. 2.2 The demand for radio spectrum is rising Analysys/Mason have prepared a detailed forecast of the future demand for radio spectrum in the UK for commercial (i.e. non-government) use within the frequency range 0-15GHz covering the next 10 years ( ) 1. The report concludes that, for frequency ranges of relevance to AMS: 0 1GHz spectrum is in very high demand (due to the propagation characteristics) from spectrum-using applications which generate the greatest economic value (broadcasting, mobile including cellular & private mobile radio). 1 Spectrum demand for non-government services , Analysys/Mason, Sept 2005 AMS Outline business plan Page 3

7 The study suggests that there may be high demand for additional spectrum for terrestrial broadcasting services and for cellular spectrum to cover less populated areas more cost-effectively, and recommends that exploring means for releasing new spectrum in this range for commercial use should be prioritised. 1 3GHz Spectrum is increasingly being used for applications such as cellular (and possibly terrestrial broadcasting) due to the shortage of spectrum below 1GHz, and could support BWA 2 services at acceptable data rates. The study anticipates moderate demand for additional spectrum in this range to support high value commercial services (cellular, BWA and possibly terrestrial broadcasting). Overall, the study considers three scenarios for spectrum demand in the 0-15GHz range through to 2025 (modelling cellular, terrestrial fixed links, BWA, satellite & terrestrial television). For the most aggressive scenario, demand exceeds available capacity in urban areas by 2009, and for the base case by For the most aggressive scenario ( data takes off ) the model predicts that by 2025 demand in urban areas (>15GHz of spectrum) will exceed current supply (ca. 7.7GHz of spectrum) by a factor of two. Thus spectrum covered by the AMS system is used by high economic value applications, and demand is likely to exceed supply within the next 5 years. 2.3 AMS may be essential for meeting future demand for spectrum The conclusions of the Analysys/Mason study are supported by feedback from spectrum users. Most organisations contacted in an interview process expected increased demand for spectrum in the future. Given the lack of availability of new spectrum with desirable propagation and information carrying characteristics (i.e. the 20MHz 3.5GHz range covered by AMS), this is likely to require reassignment of existing users to alternative bands and sharing of bands with secondary users. The result will be increased pressure for more efficient use of the available spectrum, through sharing geographically, temporally and determining access according to priority. In order to achieve this greater efficiency, detailed and localised spectrum use information will be required. Given positive economic growth conditions, the Analysys/Mason study shows that spectrum demand is likely to be significantly in excess of supply within the next 10 years. In conjunction with a liberalised approach to spectrum release, a point is likely to be reached within this timeframe when the number and complexity of deployed radio devices is such that information provided by an automatic, national spectrum monitoring system will be necessary to allow spectrum users quiet enjoyment of their spectrum, free from harmful interference. This information will be provided by AMS. 2 Broadband Wireless Access AMS Outline business plan Page 4

8 2.4 An automatic system will be required for monitoring interference in the future Consultation with spectrum users shows that relatively low levels of interference are experienced currently. Despite this, many users expressed concern that levels of interference could rise in the future, driven by the following factors: Increased use of radio devices generally, causing more interference cases Foreign (higher power) equipment purchased over the internet and used illegally in the UK Concerns about the spectrum which will be used by UWB and WLAN s Future interference issues from cheap wireless equipment, which is unpredictable and a growing problem General rises in the noise floor Potentially, future spectrum liberalisation policy. Most interviewees expected increased demand for spectrum in the future. Hence as the density of deployed radio devices increases (as this demand is filled), interference problems could get much worse. This would be particularly true under a spectrum liberalisation regime where the market has the freedom to choose the application for spectrum use and to determine the technology which delivers this application. Thus, as demand for spectrum grows it is likely that the potential for interference will increase significantly, driven by a greatly increased number of potential interactions between radio devices using different technologies. The complexity of this situation means that it is likely that an automatic monitoring system will be required to maintain spectrum quality efficiently. 2.5 Potential users report a current need for AMS for specific monitoring tasks An extensive consultation process has explored the interference problems currently experienced by spectrum users. In addition, the consultation explored current interviewee spectrum monitoring capability (if any), the potential for AMS to support resolution of problems experienced, other possible benefits of a national monitoring system, and alternative options available to interviewees (apart from using AMS). The broad conclusions drawn from this process are: Public sector spectrum users with some exceptions, public sector users currently experience relatively little interference, and in cases where interference does occur for safety of life services Ofcom resolves this as a matter of priority. However there is concern that the situation could get worse in the future. There is some demand for AMS services from public sector users for specific monitoring tasks, but this demand alone is not likely to be AMS Outline business plan Page 5

9 sufficient to justify the cost of the system. Overall the level of demand for services/information provided directly from an AMS network to public spectrum users is low. Private sector spectrum users do not see significant demand for AMS services as interference levels currently experienced are low and interference has little or no impact on their current businesses. In cases where interference is experienced, private sector users are usually able to locate the source of the interference and provide this information to Ofcom for appropriate resolution. Private sector users are likely to require AMS services only occasionally, but would be willing to pay for such use provided it was additional to interference resolution according to their license conditions. Overall the level of demand for services/information direct from an AMS network to private spectrum users is low. Use of AMS by Ofcom it is likely that one of the main values of AMS will be to Ofcom, as a tool to support its future management of the UK radio spectrum. This will support maximising the value of spectrum to the UK. Interviewee views on future interference resolution and meeting future demand for spectrum are discussed further in section The business case for AMS The previous sections set out a high level justification for AMS based on the following benefits: 1 Support for spectrum release, to meet anticipated future demand for spectrum 2 Support for spectrum liberalisation, particularly spectrum sharing 3 More efficient resolution of current interference cases. How AMS can be used to achieve these benefits is discussed in section 4, but it is clear that the majority of the benefits (1 and potentially 2 in the list above) are only likely to be realised in the medium to long term. Therefore preparing a costbenefit analysis to justify a business case for AMS is difficult, as the value of future benefits is speculative. In view of this the proposed implementation plan (section 5) and funding plan (section 6) reflect the need to develop the network in a way which proves the key benefits of the system whilst minimising deployment and technical risk (section 7). This could involve the initial development of a deployable AMS system which can be located in high risk (of interference) areas to enable a national cost-benefit case for AMS to be quantified more accurately. AMS Outline business plan Page 6

10 3 THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AMS This section sets out the views of spectrum users on the potential benefits of AMS services, focussing primarily on the potential use of AMS for the more efficient resolution of interference issues. The information is based on a consultation programme with public and private sector spectrum users carried out in June, July and August The organisations contacted during the consultation are listed in section Spectrum user consultation This section sets out the feedback consolidated into the main spectrum application areas covered by AMS, as shown in Figure 1. Thus, for example, views on PMR were obtained from industry associations, commercial users, service providers and Ofcom, and are consolidated here into a summary conclusion on the potential benefits of AMS in that application area. AMS Figure 1 Radio spectrum coverage by AMS AMS Outline business plan Page 7

11 3.2 Business radio and messaging spectrum Organisations representing PMR spectrum users report that PMR spectrum is subject to a constant level of interference arising from a variety of sources, including unlicensed PMR use, signals from continental Europe, intermodulation & engineering problems, channel sharing issues and spurious emissions from pirate radio stations. However in practice users work around these issues, changing channel where possible or reaching agreement with other users who are known to them on ways to minimise problems. For example when business radio customers have an interference issue with their equipment they typically report it to their dealer, who then passes the issue on to Ofcom. Dealers and users might listen to the interference on their own radios which could give an indication of the source. In many cases users report that interference arising from the use of unlicensed PMRs is not dealt with due to lack of enforcement resources 3. For wireless messaging (paging services) and business DECT, interference cases are infrequent. 3.3 Distress frequencies UKMCC & MCA Spectrum use for monitoring distress signals includes the use of spectrum by UK Search & Rescue and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. These organisations report that interference is not a great problem on distress frequencies, and is mainly related to weather effects. UK Search & Rescue (UKMCC) reports that the ability of AMS to locate the sources of distress signals (EPIRBs maritime based distress beacons; PLBs personal location beacons; and ELTs aircraft emergency location transmitters) would be of significant benefit, but the need for this is mainly in rural and offshore areas. Users reported that there is also value in monitoring aircraft distress channels. Baldock Radio Monitoring Station currently experiences a high level of activity (ca. 35 queries per month) searching for safety beacons (for example maritime distress beacon EPIRBs) on behalf of UK search and Rescue, for example units which are activated during disposal and need to be eliminated as an actual distress signal. Almost all of the problems with false signals and interference occur on and 243MHz bands 4, both of which are due to be phased out in It is therefore possible that although UKMCC would welcome the AMS system, by the time the system is operational one of the needs from search and rescue may be negated. 3 The existing monitoring systems at Baldock Radio Station could be used to track down unlicensed PMRs, therefore there is already a monitoring capability which could cover some areas of the UK 4 For example in some recent cases interference has been experienced from freeview digital TV boxes, where the clock can radiate enough power at MHz (the EPIRB frequency) to trigger satellite detection, depending on home cabling layout. Potentially there are 5 million radiating boxes, hence the effect contributes to noise floor rise AMS Outline business plan Page 8

12 3.4 Police, Fire & Ambulance service spectrum use These major public safety customers typically use large, fixed (frequency) PMR systems on separate bands, e.g. police radio. Their service providers are responsible for the quality of the spectrum they provide, but report little external interference problems with this sort of system. The Ambulance and Fire Services are switching to digital radio systems supplied by O2 Airwave and expect the current interference problems they experience to be removed by this change. For example the Fire Service experiences interference from pirate radio in London, but expect the switch to Airwave to solve this. The police service has already switched to Tetra radios. The majority of interference problems experienced by major public safety Tetra systems are internal, and are mostly caused by antenna installation and intermodulation problems. External interference is not a major issue but can occur, for example when a shop starts selling illegal cordless phones. The Tetra base stations have inbuilt interference monitoring capability this triggers an alarm at the network monitoring centre and investigation can then take place. Thus there is little direct need for AMS to locate sources of interference. Users feel that it is possible that AMS could be used to monitor Tetra signals coming from abroad, but this would require coastal stations and the geometry would make accurate location of sources difficult. Spectrum efficiency could be increased by having a higher degree of sharing between public safety spectrum users, which could be supported by AMS. However operators report that this is not likely to be necessary for ca. 5 years as they have enough spectrum to cover demand up to that point. 3.5 Aeronautical spectrum use Ground to aircraft communications for air traffic control (NATS) experience interference from a variety of sources, for example pirate radio, amateur radio, baby alarms and wireless CCTV cameras. Baldock Monitoring Station undertakes a lot of activity resolving interference problems in this band in the UK/Ireland areas. Users report that although there are specific problems arising that cause interference, as a whole the level of interference has remained fairly constant over time as one problem is rectified another usually emerges. Users believe that one area that is sensitive to relatively low levels of interference and could benefit from better monitoring is aeronautical communications. However, users opinion is that ground-based systems such as AMS often can t detect the interference experienced by aircraft an airborne detection system is required. It may be possible that a sufficiently high density of monitoring stations in the appropriate areas could help with tracking sources of interference with aircraft, in some cases. For ground to ground communications at airports reported interference is rare (around two cases per year), and there is no sign that the level of interference is AMS Outline business plan Page 9

13 becoming worse. Users report that in practice availability of spectrum is a much greater problem. 3.6 Utility company spectrum use The fuel, power and water industries use spectrum for radio communications, telemetry and telecontrol, services with important safety implications. Spectrum managers for utility companies see the main benefits of AMS arising in improved spectrum usage information provided by an AMS system. Data on spectrum usage would allow the spectrum to be managed more efficiently. Users report that it is likely that the industry will use AMS services on a sporadic basis, for example to resolve specific interference problems or for testing and planning purposes. 3.7 MoD spectrum use The Ministry of Defence is the single largest spectrum user in the UK and has a significant spectrum management role, involving the MoD s own use of spectrum, the release of MoD spectrum to other users and sharing with other users. MoD spectrum management reports that currently an AMS service would not seem to support directly the MoD s mission in the UK. Interference issues experienced are generally located easily, and are often resolved directly with the other parties involved. Airborne mobile use is a potential exception, but users believe that AMS would not address this problem specifically. Going forward, AMS could have a role to play in the MoD sharing spectrum with other users, i.e. opening up MoD spectrum for other uses on a controlled basis. Thus MoD spectrum management can see AMS being used as a tool to help generate value through spectrum release. The MoD would not expect to incur costs for doing this in their view the Treasury should balance out the costs of AMS vs. potentially higher spectrum licensing income. As a spectrum manager, the MoD feel that AMS could have a role to play in terms of checking rights (e.g. for secondary trading) and ensuring spectrum quality, but feel that this task is the responsibility of Ofcom. In this context they believe that more dual use of spectrum implies that interference problems will get worse, and therefore that appropriate controls will be needed to allow monitoring and control of secondary users. The specifics of this will depend in part on how the Cave recommendations on spectrum release are implemented. In terms of its own future use of spectrum, the MoD envisages two areas where AMS information could be valuable in the future: Spectrum availability is a significant problem in MoD training missions, which may comprise a coalition of several countries and are likely to involve tactical AMS Outline business plan Page 10

14 deployment of many radio systems. Typically the radios in these systems use the same frequencies, and co-ordination is difficult. An AMS system which could be deployed in this situation to co-ordinate radio use would be useful operationally. This application could be a precursor to a radio system for the MoD based on dynamic spectrum sharing. Dynamic management of spectrum is likely to be a future requirement of the MoD, in the sense of a cognitive system which uses the information from a monitoring system (potentially for the training system application described above to automatically allocate channels at specific locations). However the MoD believes that this is likely to be only achievable by ca. 2020, but that ultimately a system like AMS is likely to be needed to aid dynamic management of the spectrum allocated to the MoD. Data transmissions are particularly difficult to handle as there is no human to detect the interference and change channel the system must have the information needed to allow it to de-conflict this situation. 3.8 Government communications spectrum use Users report that it is likely that monitoring information from AMS would be used in UK Government communications applications (tracking and monitoring) by HMGCC (HM Government Communications Centre) and possibly SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency), principally in the major UK conurbations. This would be done on an ad-hoc basis, not as a primary user of the system. 3.9 Commercial radio spectrum Interference from pirate radio is a significant concern in London and in other dense urban areas where the density of spectrum use and the prevalence of pirate radio leads to significant interference issues for commercial radio companies and business radio customers. Users report that pirate radio may well be the biggest cause of radio interference in the UK as it can be transmitted at a power up to 500W, obliterating many other signals in the area. There are ca. 40 pirate radio stations in London operating almost continually. Thus, AMS would be welcomed by commercial radio broadcasters if it could reduce or eliminate the problem of pirate radio. However pirate radio transmitters are serious operations, often associated with drugs, and transmitters are commonly found in unmanned locations fed (for example) by a UHF or microwave link from another location. Whilst locating the transmitter can be straightforward, locating the studio via these directional feeder links is difficult, but is required because the operator may well have multiple transmitters and can switch transmitters if one is shut down. If AMS could be used to locate the studios via these directional links then users believe it would be a useful enforcement tool. However, this use is likely to be technically difficult due to the directional nature of the links and the fact that many operate above the AMS Outline business plan Page 11

15 maximum frequency of the proposed AMS system. The effectiveness would need to be tested in practice by an AMS system deployed in an urban area Broadcast TV spectrum Broadcast TV service providers report that they experience few interference issues. They know and trust other users, for example operators in neighbouring countries, and are able to resolve any interference issues amongst themselves. The operators deploy survey vehicle teams when required to validate spectrum against the required service. Thus these users believe that AMS would not be of benefit in this application PMSE spectrum PMSE (Programme Making & Special Events) spectrum is perceived as being very crowded, and users report that spectrum data provided by AMS would be very useful for both locating interference and for spectrum monitoring purposes. This would be particularly true if information were available in a portable format, for example via a deployable AMS system for use at large outdoor events such as Open Golf and Live 8. These events can suffer high levels of interference and the cost of monitoring is currently high, since these events are held on busy weekends. In addition, AMS could potentially be used as a spectrum management tool to allow, for example, parts of the BBC and MoD spectrum with low levels of use to be temporarily shared with PMSE through a dynamic sharing mechanism in specific cases Mobile operator spectrum Mobile operators are able to monitor their own spectrum via their network equipment, including remote monitoring of the noise floor in real time and triangulating interference sources. Operators report that interference is typically localised within 100m of a cell site, and has the impact of increasing the dropped call rate (which is how interference is detected). Whilst some operators report increasing interference levels on 3G frequencies, typically operators report around 1-30 interference cases per year, per operator, on GSM networks. In the worst cases one of the base station sectors can be shut down by the interference. Thus location of interference sources by AMS is not a useful service for mobile operators, as it is unlikely that AMS would be more sensitive than using their existing base station equipment. Operators report that local enforcement is the critical aspect, as it is necessary for enforcement officers to go on foot to pinpoint the location of the interference and resolve the problem once the local area has been identified by the operator. AMS Outline business plan Page 12

16 Operators struggle to see the value of other possible AMS services, for example providing RF monitoring at base station sites for compliance purposes. Sending out a technician with a scanner is likely to be more cost-effective for the operator and is compliant with RF monitoring standards. Much more significant issues for operators are gaining access to new spectrum and maintaining spectrum quality under Ofcom s new approach to spectrum management. Operators believe that AMS might have a role to play in providing the information required to allow commercial access to spectrum released to, or shared with, other users, although they indicate that the cost-effectiveness of this approach in comparison to manual monitoring would need to be demonstrated. Ofcom may have responsibility to ensure spectrum is free of interference from legacy use, which operators expect when they buy new spectrum. In a bid situation monitoring information would help as in some cases bidders might be prepared to pay higher prices as their risk would be reduced. In terms of maintaining the quality of newly released spectrum, some operators indicate that an administration fee to ensure that spectrum quality is maintained might be negotiable. Such a fee could potentially contribute to AMS, as part of an effective solution for maintaining spectrum quality. Going forward operators feel that there is a lack of clarity on technology neutral licensing. They report that the concept appears to be at an early stage and that it is unclear where the property rights will lie. Operators are looking for a regime that allows them quiet enjoyment of their spectrum this means an effective mechanism for neighbours coexisting and a means of resolving disputes Research use of spectrum monitoring information Using AMS monitoring information for R&D could provide some value, however potential users indicate that this is likely to be at a low level. For example, where propagation statistics cannot be obtained for free or at very low cost from sources such as the ITU, academic or commercial R&D groups may be interested in commissioning the collection of data for specific studies. The raw data from the AMS system would be required for this to be useful. In addition, AMS data is likely to be useful for providing a picture of the dynamic nature of spectrum use, gathering information about traffic and how it varies with time, frequency and geography. The use of AMS information as a part of dynamic spectrum access R&D has much higher potential value. For example the process of reprogramming equipment to different frequencies can be time consuming for operators and is sometimes done incorrectly. A system which could use AMS information to automatically identify free channels for allocation at specific locations could potentially solve some of these problems, and enable (for example) a system to allow licensed use of low power, short-range radio in broadcast bands. Support AMS Outline business plan Page 13

17 for dynamic spectrum access via the provision of AMS information could support the development of the UK wireless industry in this area Use of AMS by Ofcom The main value of AMS will be to Ofcom, as a tool to support its future management of the UK radio spectrum. Specifically, AMS will be used by Ofcom to: Support the identification and location of unauthorised transmissions Support the release of spectrum from use by legacy equipment, by providing information on current levels of spectrum use Support the policing of spectrum use by secondary users, in cases where spectrum is shared between users under the spectrum liberalisation regime. Ofcom currently has two monitoring systems, based at Baldock Radio Monitoring Station: UMS system The Unattended Monitoring System, developed over the last 8 years, comprises up to 44 receive-only stations 5 sited in major conurbations, typically in schools, tower blocks etc. The primary purpose of UMS is to monitor PMR (the base stations not the mobile stations). In practice use of UMS covers: 1. Checking spectrum prior to sale, 2. Responding to interference complaints (using measurements which were made at the time of the interference report), and 3. Determining spectrum occupancy levels. Whilst it is easy to measure occupancy, measuring usage is hard (because of the need to separate out multiple users of the same frequency and the lack of coverage of the system, i.e. it covers PMR base stations but not mobile stations). UMS can t measure the noise floor. RMDF system The Remote Monitoring and Direction Finding System, set up in 2001, has 24 operational sites. The sites are grouped to allow position fixing as far as possible, however due to the small number of sites in some areas the system only allows a line of bearing to be determined. The RMDF system covers mainly pagers, PMR and broadcast transmissions. Typical interference investigation cases involve illegal transmissions, licensed transmitters offfrequency or wrongly programmed, and pirate radio. The DF system is used to locate the source then a local enforcement officer is sent to investigate. Cases include for example dumped EPIRB units, webcams (harmonic at 1.2GHz), and high power cordless phones operating in aircraft bands. The UMS and RMDF systems are adequate for meeting current spectrum monitoring demands. However, the oldest UMS stations are reaching the end of their design life, and the cost of additional UMS or RMDF stations (ca. 100k - 200k per terminal) makes it prohibitively expensive to expand the system. 5 Some sites do not yet have equipment fitted AMS Outline business plan Page 14

18 Ofcom s strategy to achieve more efficient use of spectrum to meet envisaged future demand means that there will be a fundamental need to measure and define spectrum quality. The current UMS and RMDF monitoring systems will be inadequate for this task, as they lack coverage, are reaching the end of their design life and are not integrated with the license databases. This means that investigation is currently a manual, time consuming process requiring skilled operators. As spectrum demand rises, users become more densely packed in the available spectrum and markets are allowed more freedom in application and technology choice, the number of interference cases experienced could rise to a level at which an automated, high coverage monitoring system is essential for Ofcom to be able to deliver spectrum of the required quality to users in an efficiently. Specifically, this will require the following services: Targeted monitoring of spectrum occupancy and usage Efficient location of significant interference sources to an accuracy of ca. 200m Automated interpretation of monitoring data, e.g. flagging variance from the baseline The potential for automatic detection of violations in comparison to reference license databases. These services will be provided by AMS. AMS Outline business plan Page 15

19 4 SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY AMS Based on the spectrum user feedback set out in section 3, implementation of AMS will provide spectrum management services of significant value. These services provide benefits in three main areas: 1 Support for spectrum release and spectrum liberalisation, enabling rising user demand for spectrum to be met. 2 Improved spectrum monitoring capability, ensuring spectrum quality is maintained for existing and future spectrum users. 3 Integration of monitoring information into dynamic spectrum sharing radio systems, underpinning longer term demands on available spectrum. The rationale behind these services is summarised below (references are to Table 1 Summary of AMS services). In the medium term it is likely that the greatest value which can be influenced by AMS can be realised through spectrum release (1), and therefore this area underpins the business case for deploying an AMS network. As spectrum demand rises and the market requires the ability to use spectrum in a more flexible way, Ofcom will also need AMS information to support spectrum liberalisation (2). Several current spectrum users will benefit from improved monitoring capability, and some are willing to pay additional fees for specific additional monitoring services on an occasional basis. These users and applications are: PMR users, distress beacon location, Government tracking & monitoring, utilities (energy, power & water), aircraft communications interference resolution and (potentially) pirate radio link detection (3 8). In addition, a deployable AMS system would be of value in MoD training (9) and in spectrum management at large, outdoor events (10). In the longer term research use of AMS information (11) is likely, though probably of low value. Of greater interest and potentially of significant long term value is the integration of AMS information into dynamic spectrum access systems (12), which could potentially allow spectrum with attractive propagation characteristics to be shared to a much greater extent than is currently possible, effectively using the AMS as a database of spectrum utilisation. This would be a route where AMS would perform a key role in supporting the national interest in terms of maximising the potential of spectrum use. AMS Outline business plan Page 16

20 4.1 Summary of AMS services The services which will be provided by the AMS system are summarised below. 1 Support for the release of spectrum by Ofcom 2 Support for Ofcom s spectrum liberalisation strategy The use of more spectrally efficient equipment enables the spectrum previously used by legacy equipment to be released, for example as legacy users give up or share part of their allocation to reduce their costs or migrate applications to a new band. The freed-up spectrum can then be awarded to new users, typically via an auction process. Over the next few years the current spectrum award programme will release the spectrum that is available in the short term (through to 2008). AMS is unlikely to be available in time to support this process. However, for spectrum released beyond this point (for example digital switchover spectrum or spectrum released by a current licensee) AMS could be used to generate a baseline picture of spectrum quality, thus making monitoring information available to bidders. This is likely to realise higher auction values by reducing risk. AMS will also allow more efficient use of released spectrum, for example by working around legacy users or by dealing with known sources of interference (e.g. 3G expansion bands subject to out of band emissions from radar sites). This is likely to generate increased license fees, by allowing a higher level of sharing amongst spectrum users and allowing more spectrum to be released, for example through using detailed AMS information as a basis for setting geographical restrictions rather than relying on more conservative calculation methods. The nature of the legacy licensing regime ( command and control ) drives a conservative approach to defining which users/applications can be used in each part of the radio spectrum. Spectrum allocations are known, but in many cases actual use is not. Thus, use of spectrum is inefficient. Ofcom is moving towards a more deregulated approach to spectrum management, increasing the flexibility of spectrum use and allowing market-led spectrum trading. In order to achieve this, effective monitoring information and enforcement resources will be required, and may be essential to convince industry that the plan will work and AMS Outline business plan Page 17

21 that spectrum quality will be maintained for primary users 6. AMS will provide the means of supplying the required monitoring information. Specifically, AMS will support: Management of spectrum use by secondary users Ensuring that spectrum quality is maintained if different uses for spectrum are allowed Providing monitoring information to underpin spectrum trading Providing monitoring information to enable resolution of spectrum property rights disputes. Successfully increasing spectrum use via effective spectrum sharing, using AMS to confirm actual use levels, enforce required restrictions and support resolution of disputes, will result in increased benefit for the UK from more efficient use of the available spectrum. 3 Improved resolution of interference for PMRs 4 Safety of life services improved location of distress beacons 5 Additional facility for Government use for monitoring and tracking Public Mobile Radio (PMR) is subject to interference arising from signals from continental Europe, intermodulation & engineering problems, channel sharing issues, spurious emissions from pirate radio stations and the use of unlicensed PMR. Interference caused to PMR users is not dealt with in many cases, due to lack of enforcement resources 7. AMS could provide efficiency improvements to support addressing these cases. Users report that there is value in locating safety beacons more efficiently. For example finding Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) more efficiently is an area of difficulty which AMS will address (for example beacons which are activated during disposal and therefore waste location resources). It is likely that monitoring information from AMS would be used in UK Government communications applications (tracking and monitoring), principally in the major UK conurbations. The AMS facility would be utilised for this application as required. 6 Feedback obtained from several users during the consultation exercise 7 This is the situation as reported by users in practice Ofcom may not be required to resolve interference in many of these cases, and users have options to work around the problems AMS Outline business plan Page 18

22 6 Improved utility industry use for testing & planning It is likely that the utility industries will use AMS services, for example to resolve specific interference problems on PMR channels (communications or telemetry) or for testing & planning purposes. 7 Additional support for resolving interference with aircraft communications 8 Improved detection of pirate radio links in urban areas 9 Provision of a deployable AMS system to support MoD training missions Deployment of AMS stations could help with tracking sources of interference with aircraft communications. A sufficiently high number of stations would enable detection of interfering ground to air transmissions, in some cases. Interference from pirate radio is a significant concern in London and other dense urban areas, leading to significant interference issues for commercial radio companies and business radio customers. Pirate radio transmitters are commonly found in unmanned locations fed (for example) by a UHF link from another location. Whilst locating the transmitter can be straightforward (and Ofcom have current capability in this area) locating the studio via the directional links is difficult, but is required because the operator may well have multiple transmitters. If AMS could be used to locate the studios via these links then it would be a useful enforcement tool; however this is likely to be difficult due to the directional nature of the links and the fact that many operate above the frequency range of the proposed AMS. This will need to be tested in a practical deployment of the system. Spectrum availability is a significant problem in Ministry of Defence (MoD) training missions. These missions may comprise a coalition of several countries and are likely to involve tactical deployment of lots of radio kit, typically radios which use the same frequencies. Deployment of an AMS system in this situation will alleviate some of these problems, for example by providing spectrum occupancy information to support radio planning. This could provide a step towards use of more efficient use of spectrum by the military for their own applications. AMS Outline business plan Page 19

23 10 Provision of deployable AMS for management of spectrum used for PMSE at large, outdoor events 11 Provision of spectrum monitoring information for research use 12 In the longer term, integration of AMS information into dynamic spectrum access systems Programme Making & Special Events (PMSE) spectrum is perceived as being very crowded, and spectrum monitoring data would be useful for both locating interference sources and for spectrum monitoring. An AMS system which could be deployed at large outdoor events (such as Open Golf and Live 8) would be particularly useful these events can suffer high levels of interference and difficulties with spectrum availability, and the cost of monitoring and management is currently high since these events are held on busy weekends. Using AMS information (raw data) could provide some value for research use, for example in the collection of propagation statistics. This would require dedicated capacity on the AMS network, but would result in useful data on the dynamic nature of spectrum use (traffic variation with time, frequency and geography). This information is difficult to obtain from other sources. The use of AMS information as a part of a dynamic spectrum access system has significant long term potential. For example the process of reprogramming equipment to different frequencies can be time consuming for operators and is sometimes done incorrectly. A system which automatically allocates channels at specific locations using distributed sensing from AMS information could, for example, enable a system to allow licensed use of low power, short-range radio in infrequently used bands. Proving this concept would open the way for dynamic management of significant spectrum allocations in the future (for example MoD spectrum), allowing increased spectrum use for the benefit of the UK. Table 1 Summary of AMS services AMS Outline business plan Page 20

24 4.2 AMS services and benefits The following sections describe the services AMS will provide, and set out the main benefits arising from these services Support for spectrum release, to meet anticipated future demand for spectrum Section 2.2 examined the future demand for spectrum, concluding that spectrum covered by the AMS system is used by high economic value applications, and that demand is likely to exceed supply within the next 5 years. Implementation of AMS in 2007/2008 will enable more spectrum to be released than is possible using current methods. This will be done by using detailed AMS monitoring information as a basis for setting restrictions, rather than by employing calculation methods which typically employ a conservative margin of safety in the absence of field data. Working around legacy users by defining more accurate geographical restrictions using AMS information to characterise sources of interference in detail will enable additional spectrum to be released. For example the MHz band which is subject to out of band emissions from radar sites would be a candidate for AMS use. Possible cases for the use of AMS to support additional spectrum release are discussed in section Support for spectrum liberalisation Ofcom s strategy to move to a liberalised approach to spectrum management will increase the flexibility of spectrum use and allow market-led spectrum trading. This flexibility will significantly increase the number of cases where different spectrum users are in close proximity, either at geographic, frequency or timebased boundaries. Since different radio technologies often do not co-exist well in practice 8, this greatly increases the potential for harmful interference cases to occur. In this deregulated environment, the efficient provision of monitoring information by AMS will be required. Specifically, AMS will provide the information required to support: Ensuring that spectrum quality is maintained when spectrum users are allowed to choose applications and technologies Management by primary users of use of their spectrum by secondary users Providing monitoring information to underpin spectrum trading 8 Reported by several spectrum user organisations surveyed AMS Outline business plan Page 21